Job Security, Not Role Security: How to Future-Proof a Workforce

What happens to careers when AI makes more than half of all roles look fundamentally different within two years? In this episode of The WorkOps Podcast, host Jeet Mukergi sits down with Lisa Sherwell, Chief People Officer at SUSE, to unpack her answer: strive for job security, not role security. Lisa shares how SUSE's Future Selves program transformed engagement for its over 50 workforce, why internal gigs are the new engine of career growth, and why performance management fails not because of broken processes but because leaders avoid honest conversations. A practical, candid conversation for HR leaders, people operations professionals, and executives navigating the AI era.

00:00 Introduction

01:15 From sales and call centers to chief people officer

02:30 Building commercial curiosity in HR

04:15 Future Selves: investing in the over 50 workforce

07:00 Job security vs role security

08:55 Hiring for AI potential, not expertise

10:30 How SUSE rolled out AI across the business

16:45 Running HR for 8% less while delivering more

24:30 Performance is a clarity problem, not a process problem

33:00 A new playbook for the AI era

-Strive for job security, not role security: broad competencies and internal mobility protect people as AI reshapes their roles.

-More than half of all roles could look fundamentally different within two years, so career agility is now a core business responsibility.

-SUSE's Future Selves program proved that investing in the over 50 workforce lifts engagement, internal mobility, and community, while preserving invaluable business context.

-Performance is a clarity problem, not a process problem: honest meets, fails, exceeds conversations beat new ratings scales and OKR frameworks.

-Ownership of performance belongs with the individual contributor, because nobody cares more about your career growth than you do.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisasherwell/

Website: https://www.suse.com


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